


25 Days of Christmas

by alchemicink



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: #KeitosHardLife, #peoplenamedYuya, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Lights, Christmas Presents, Christmas Shopping, Christmas Tree, Cooking Shenanigans, Fruitcake, Gen, Hot Chocolate, Ice Skating, Inaccurate representation of the hundred yen shop again, Mistletoe, Popsicles, Skiing Misadventures, Snow, Snow Angels, Snow Devils, Snowball Fight, Tacky Sweaters which should not be confused with Tackey Sweaters, The Saga of Chinen's Kitchen Utensils, Video Game, Wrapping Presents, Yabu the sort of competent Supervisor, Yamada is way too excited about Christmas decorations, Yuto taking unexpected photos, a serious case of the giggles, christmas day, gingerbread, ho ho HO, jingle bells, party time!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-04 11:12:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 14,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5332088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemicink/pseuds/alchemicink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of inter-connected drabbles and short one-shots showing JUMP celebrating the holiday season, from December 1st through December 25th</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my 50th fic on ao3! Yes, I'm surprised by that too :P To celebrate, I decided to put together this drabble collection for fun. They'll be one new chapter added every day from Dec 1st through the 25th. 
> 
> I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who reads/leaves kudos/leaves comments on my fics. Whether you are a silent reader or a regular commentator, I appreciate every one of you. I hope you all enjoy this little challenge of mine, even if you don't celebrate Christmas. ^_^
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first drabble is for [turtleheartz](http://archiveofourown.org/users/turtleheartz/pseuds/turtleheartz/) because, 1) it's her birthday (hooray!) and 2) this is an apology for still not finishing Hipster Yuto yet.  
> orz   
> I'M SORRY  
> Please enjoy the Takajima!

“It’s December, so you know what that means?” Yuto announced in a sing-song voice to the rest of the group while they were gathering up their things now that their practice was over. He pulled out something from inside his bag. 

“Mistletoe!” 

A few leaves from the plant fluttered to the floor as Yuto grinned at everyone.

“Not again,” Yamada complained. “Is that the same bunch of mistletoe you had last year?” 

Yuto avoided eye contact. “…Maybeeee.” 

“Look at the time,” Yabu suddenly exclaimed and looked to the imaginary watch on his wrist. “I have to be somewhere right now. Sorrygottagobye!” The words ran together almost as fast as Yabu did as he disappeared out the dressing room door. A shuffling sound followed and the rest of the group was gone as well. 

Yuto pouted. “Where’s your holiday spirit??” he shouted out after them down the hallway. A few more leaves dropped off of his clump of mistletoe again. 

Yuto got some tape and reached up to affix the mistletoe over the doorway leading into their dressing room. He didn’t have any trouble reaching up high enough, but the tape kept getting stuck to his hand.

“Need some help?”

Takaki was standing outside the doorway, looking at him with an amused smile. Yuto gave him a sheepish grin and waved his tape covered fingers at him. “You came back!” 

“Actually I forgot my sunglasses,” Takaki admitted but picked up the tape dispenser anyway. “How did you end up with tape on your face?” 

“I guess I used up my quota for coordination in dance practice earlier?” Yuto answered as he peeled a piece off of his nose.

With help, the task of hanging up the mistletoe went much easier and quickly until it was finally hanging up at the top of the door frame ready to catch any two unsuspecting people underneath.

“So…” Yuto began, looking up as he admired their handiwork. He smirked. “We’re both standing under the mistletoe.” 

Takaki rolled his eyes and let out a noise that sounded like a mix of a sigh and a laugh. “You can kiss my cheek I suppose.” He turned his face for Yuto who giggled as he pressed a quick kiss right in front of his ear. 

Yuto grinned once he stepped back. “The Christmas season has officially begun.” 

“But why does it always have to start with kissing?” Takaki joked as he grabbed the sunglasses he had originally returned to the room for. 

“Because it’s fun!” Yuto’s laugh echoed off the walls of the room, filling everything with a happy holiday feeling.


	2. Backstage Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HSJ performed on FNS today and their outfits looked super adorable! Their clothes have nothing to do with this drabble, but I just wanted to share my thoughts anyway :D Please enjoy~!

Hikaru liked preparing for things, liked having a plan. Things just went so much easier when everyone knew what they were doing and when they were supposed to do it. Of course, being in a group of nine people made Hikaru’s job of planning things out much more difficult. Especially when Yabu always forgot his assignment, Daiki always was late getting his job done, and Chinen always said “I’m too cute for this” and blinked at him with innocent-looking eyes. (Hikaru knew better though)

At the moment, the whole group was gathered backstage waiting for their turn to perform on the FNS music special, and Hikaru was trying to make plans for their annual Christmas gift exchange. 

“Inoo, it’s not a group meeting if you keep chatting with Daiki in the corner,” Hikaru said, trying to keep everyone on topic. 

“But we’re talking about presents,” Inoo answered back and stuck his tongue out at Hikaru. 

“Well anyway,” Hikaru cleared his throat and continued. “So all we have left to do is vote that we do the same thing as last year. We each bring a present and draw numbers to pick one out. And no gag gifts,” he added sternly with a look to Takaki.

“I told you,” Takaki pouted, “the underwear last year was a serious gift.” 

“I’m wearing them right now,” Yabu announced proudly to the group.

Hikaru ignored that and continued. “If you agree, then raise your hand.” 

Everyone raised a hand in agreement and Hikaru nodded with satisfaction that the gift exchange situation had been settled. “I declare this group meeting adjourned,” he announced like a judge and then focused on readjusting his microphone pack because they were going to be on stage soon. 

“Actually,” Chinen spoke up, “we have one more item of business for this meeting.” 

Hikaru looked confused. “What else is there?” 

“Did you honestly forget your own birthday?” Yamada laughed as he revealed a tiny cake with Hikaru’s name written on it. 

“I—” Hikaru stumbled over his words because he had, in fact, forgotten that it was his birthday since he’d been so focused on the performance and everything else going on. “Thank you!” he exclaimed. The cake looked really delicious. 

Yuto’s camera began clicking obnoxiously nearby as he took pictures of his reaction. Takaki held out a fork for him to take a bite of his birthday cake. But just as Hikaru was about to dig in while Keito was quietly singing _Happy Birthday_ to him in English, a staff member called out for them to get ready to go to the stage. 

“Hey Say Jump, one minute!” 

Hikaru sighed at the timing. “You guys didn’t plan this out very well.”


	3. First Decorations of the Season

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is pretty much inspired by the fact that apparently Chinen is living on his own now and he only keeps DVDs in his kitchen drawers? LOL

Chinen opened the door of his new apartment to find Yamada standing there, looking like he’d run all the way there in a panic. He leaned against the doorframe to try and catch his breath while Chinen just frowned and wondered what was wrong.

“Are you okay?”

“Chinen,” Yamada said very seriously between breaths, “you need Christmas decorations.” 

“…that’s it?!” Chinen dragged Yamada inside and shut the front door. “I thought maybe you were being chased by an evil murderer or something.” 

“Holiday decorations are very important, and this is your first December in your new place.” Yamada turned and opened up the front door again. “Here, I brought you some to use.” He reached out and picked up a box from outside that Chinen hadn’t noticed before. Carrying the big box must have been why Yamada was so tired.

“So you’re just giving me the leftovers you don’t want,” Chinen teased as he opened up the box. 

There was an assortment of trinkets inside. A little Santa Claus figurine, a decorative plate with a Christmas tree on it, a cookie jar shaped like a snowman, and a few other cute little things. Underneath that were candle holders and a Christmas stocking which Chinen liked even though he didn’t burn candles and he had no fireplace to hang the stocking by. 

As they continued to unpack the box, Chinen discovered a lot of green garland to hang up somewhere. He frowned though as the green stuff kept shedding, leaving little tiny pieces of garland on his carpet. 

“Stop frowning,” Yamada said as he started tacking the garland up over the entrance to the kitchen. “I’ll vacuum it up for you.” 

That made Chinen smile. He wondered if he could convince Yamada to maybe vacuum the whole apartment before he left. But he’d save that battle for after their decorating was complete.

“Aren’t these supposed to go on the outside of a person’s house?” Chinen asked as he pulled out a long string of lights and tried to straighten them out from the tangled mess that occurred when Yamada had thrown them into the box earlier. 

“Nah, we can hang them up above that window over there,” Yamada pointed over his shoulder while he finished up the last of the garland decorations. 

“Isn’t that a fire hazard or something?” 

“Well,” Yamada blinked as he climbed down from the chair he’d been standing on to reach the top. “I mean, I’ve never had my house catch on fire yet.” 

“How very comforting,” Chinen deadpanned. But he didn’t argue as Yamada grabbed the other end of the lights. It might look pretty cool actually. So they climbed up onto the couch to stretch high enough to attach the light string to the wall above the window.

“Is it even?” Yamada asked and leaned back to get a better look. “We don’t want the lights to be lopsided.”

Chinen’s face was already entirely too close to the lights than he wanted to be. “How should I know? And no one will care if they’re not perfect.” 

Yamada gasped. “I’ll care!” He jumped off the couch to get a better view. “Yes, it’s definitely too low on your side. Raise the lights up a bit.” 

Chinen nudged the part he was holding ever so slightly up.

“Too much!”

So Chinen lowered them back down.

“Way too low. Can’t you see how low that is?” 

Chinen resisted the urge to bash his head against the wall. 

Yamada waved his hand as if he was directing traffic while Chinen followed his directions of “Up! Down! Too far! Maybe lean a bit to the left! Up, up, up! Way too much! Hold it! Down a smidge. And stop!” Once he was finally satisfied that the lights were perfect, Chinen attached his side to the wall and stepped back down too. He plugged the lights at the same time as Yamada turned off all the other lights in the living room. 

A multicolored array of lights shone out across the room, reflecting off of anything shiny. As much as Chinen hadn’t cared about decorating, he had to admit that Yamada knew what he was doing. The living room looked a bit livelier, and maybe a bit magical too. 

Yamada nodded with satisfaction. “Now your new apartment is officially a home,” he declared, and then he plopped down on the couch like he was exhausted from all the work. “Let’s watch a movie or something.” 

“Didn’t you promise me you’ll vacuum?” Chinen joked, pausing before he walked into the kitchen to find a DVD and to microwave some popcorn. 

“After the movie,” Yamada answered. The lights in the room reflected off of his eyes as he wiggled around to get into a comfortable position on the couch cushions. 

_Yeah_ , Chinen agreed silently to himself. This new place was starting to feel like home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, hanging up outside Christmas lights inside your house actually is a bit of a fire hazard if you don't take care of them properly. So be safe, kids!


	4. In Focus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for [mousapelli](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mousapelli/) who requested Yuto and Hikaru. It's short but I hope you enjoy~! ^_^

When Yuto had randomly joked that Hikaru could be his model for some winter-themed photos, he hadn’t expected for Hikaru to actually want to do it. They spent so much time posing for magazine pictures that he didn’t think Hikaru would volunteer to spend his free time in front of a camera too. But then, of course, he did. Quite enthusiastically.

“How about I wear this Santa hat?” Hikaru asked as he put the red and white fuzzy hat on top of his messy hair. He made a funny face showing off all his crooked teeth but Yuto wasn’t fast enough to snap a picture of it before it disappeared into a normal-looking smile. 

“Yeah, that’s cute,” Yuto said, “but I really wanted you to wear the elf ears.” 

Hikaru looked slightly scandalized. “But Santa doesn’t have elf ears.” 

Yuto snapped a few photos and smiled at how wide Hikaru’s eyes got when he disagreed about something. “Santa also has a big white beard and you definitely do not,” he pointed out, “so I don’t think accuracy is something that’s very necessary for this photoshoot.” 

“I could always run to the store and buy a fake beard,” Hikaru suggested with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“I think we can live without it,” Yuto said, but then imagined Hikaru’s face swallowed up in a large curly beard. He covered his mouth to hide his laugh.

Hikaru was in a really good mood—Yuto could see the sparkle in his eyes as he focused on his face through the camera lens—so he put on the elf ears without any more complaints and posed again in different positions, each one more ridiculous than the last. 

Yuto liked taking pictures of Hikaru who was good at following directions. Because it was just the two of them, he was relaxed. So when Yuto held the camera, all of his facial expressions came out looking genuine. Yuto turned and twisted to get several artsy camera shots. He didn’t have any specific plans to show off this Christmas-y photoshoot but he definitely was going to share these photos with the rest of the group. 

“Alright, one last photo,” Yuto said. “How about we take a selfie together?” 

He held his camera out at arm’s length and posed beside Hikaru. Before he could click the button, Hikaru tossed his Santa hat off and shoved it onto Yuto’s head with a grin that could put Chinen’s trademark one to shame. The photo looked a bit silly: Hikaru with his messy hat hair half-covering his fake elf ears and Yuto with a lopsided Santa hat that haphazardly covered up one of his eyes.

But Yuto decided that it was best one of the whole photoshoot.


	5. Down the Snowy Mountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is actually something I wrote recently for shiritori, originally posted [here](http://writetomyheart.livejournal.com/442714.html/). I thought the winter and snow theme would go well in this collection.
> 
> Enjoy~!

“So what flavor of ice cream do you want?” 

“Seriously?” Yabu complained, giving Hikaru the most skeptical look he could through his goggles. “We’re freezing to death and you’re offering me ice cream?”

Hikaru laughed and the ski lift chair they were sitting in swung precariously a bit from side to side as it continued its ascent up the mountain. “It’s a reward. If you make it down the mountain intact, I’ll buy you ice cream. You can’t turn down free food.”

“I can if the food is the same temperature of the icicles hanging from my nose,” Yabu replied. “I should have just stayed in the lodge with Inoo and Daiki.”

“Why are you so grumpy?” Hikaru asked. He took a moment to readjust his toboggan down a bit to make sure it was covering his ears from the chill of the wind. They were getting closer to the top. 

Yabu looked down at the people skiing and snowboarding the snowy mountain trail below. “Because I’m going to end up like that guy,” he said, pointing to a person who had fallen down, lost his skis, and was currently sliding towards the bottom on his butt. “I wish they hadn’t been out of snowboards when we rented this stuff,” he continued. The thin skis attached to his feet looked heavier than they should be. 

“I’ll make sure you’ll be fine. It’s like snowboarding except you have two boards instead of one.” Hikaru grinned and then grabbed Yabu’s wrist. “Keep your skis up. We’re about to get off the lift.” 

“How about we stay on and just ride back down?” 

“No,” Hikaru answered. The attendant at the top of the mountain expertly popped open the latch of the chair, and once they were both free, Hikaru pulled Yabu’s arm to help keep him steady as they jumped off. They both flew forward a little ways before Yabu lost his balance from the momentum and toppled face first into the snow.

“Leave me here to die,” Yabu declared in overdramatic fashion.

Hikaru shrugged. “More ice cream for me then.” He turned and pointed his snowboard down the mountain and pretended like he was actually going to leave. 

“Wait!” Yabu called out, and Hikaru looked over his shoulder to see Yabu still pretending to be overdramatic as he lay tangled up in his ski equipment in the snow. “Tell Inoo…” he began slowly with his hand stretched out, “…that I…” he took a deep breath like he was trying to cling to life, “…am never going to pay back the 1000 yen I owe him.” 

Hikaru snorted. “Get up, you dork.” He grabbed the outstretched hand, pulling Yabu back up and then brushed off some snow from his shoulders and back. He kept his hand firmly attached to Yabu’s wrist to keep him steady as they finally started down the trail. 

Once Yabu seemed to get the hang of it, Hikaru let go but continued to keep his speed slow enough to stay with him. This wasn’t a difficult slope so they probably wouldn’t have any problems if Yabu managed to not fall again. 

“What if we’re attacked by wild animals out here?” Yabu jokingly asked, glancing at the trees that lined the trail. 

“What kind of wild animals are you expecting?” 

“Oh you know,” Yabu shrugged. “Bears, raccoons, evil possessed rabbits, maybe some birds.”

“What was that about rabbits?” 

“I saw a movie once. I… don’t want to talk about it.” Yabu shuddered but it was hard to pick out the motion beneath all the heavy snow gear he was wearing. 

Hikaru just laughed again. He was enjoying this. Just getting to spend time with Yabu outside of magazine shoots and dance practices and all the other work they had to do. They spent the rest of the trek down the slope chatting about how nice the trees looked covered with a dusting of powdery snow and how bright the sun was reflecting off of everything and just appreciating the quietness of the moment even as they were surrounded by other people skiing and snowboarding their way down the mountain. 

Things were going well actually until they finally reached the bottom and the ski lodge came back into view. 

“Hey Hika?” Yabu began. “I don’t remember how to stop.” He was picking up speed and heading straight for the lodge entrance. 

“Just fall down,” Hikaru called out after him, not able to catch up in time to grab him. 

Yabu followed his suggestion and dove into the snow again right as he reached the row of skis and snowboards propped up by the door. It was like watching a stack of dominos as each one fell over once Yabu collided with the first one. 

“Oops?” Yabu said. He unhooked his skis from his boots and managed to get back up without assistance. “Let’s leave before anyone notices I did that.” 

Hikaru left his snowboard behind in the pile of wreckage and gestured towards the entrance to the lodge. “I think you deserve two scoops of ice cream for making it down the mountain without breaking your leg.” 

“No ice cream!” Yabu demanded as he grabbed Hikaru by the arm and dragged him inside. “Buy me something warm. Like soup.” Hikaru just smiled and went along with Yabu as he continued talking. 

“And then I say we spend the rest of the afternoon drinking hot chocolate and sitting by the fire.”


	6. Super Smash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's drabble is for [nightbaron079](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nightbaron079/) who requested Takaki and Chinen! Or alternatively, "the saga of Chinen's lack of kitchen stuff continues." :P Hope you enjoy~!

“Oh you decorated for Christmas!” were the first words out of Takaki’s mouth as soon as Chinen opened his front door. 

“Ryosuke did it,” Chinen explained as he gestured for his guest to step inside. He watched Takaki take off his shoes and coat before placing them neatly by the door. 

Takaki laughed as he scanned the room, taking in all the new decorations. “That makes more sense. Anyway, it looks nice but I think the lights might be a fire hazard.” 

Chinen looked at the multicolored lights he’d left hanging over the window above the couch since he and Yamada had worked so hard to put them up. “Well, I mean, my apartment hasn’t burned down yet so I guess it’s okay,” he shrugged. “You bring the goods?”

“Don’t make me sound like I’m your drug dealer,” Takaki laughed as he rummaged around in his bag before pulling out a few things. “I brought _Super Smash Bros_ and lots of microwavable hot chocolate packets.” 

Chinen pulled out his game system and hooked it to the TV. “Is the hot chocolate your consolation prize for when I kick your butt at this game?” He dusted off his controllers and set everything up while Takaki disappeared to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. 

“Chi, where are your spoons? I need to stir this stuff up,” Takaki called out from the kitchen. 

“Um…” 

There was the sound of drawers opening and closing in the kitchen briefly before Takaki spoke again. “Why the heck are all these DVDs in here? Do you _have_ any kitchen utensils?” 

“Try the clean stuff in the sink maybe,” Chinen called out. The game menu had popped up on screen already, asking him to pick a character to play as. He held back a smirk as he chose one for him and one for Takaki.

“Good thing I brought my own mugs,” Takaki said as he reentered the room holding two steaming cups of hot chocolate. Both of them were Christmas themed with one saying _Dear Santa, I can explain…_ and the other saying _Be Naughty, Save Santa a Trip._ “You can have the naughty one,” Takaki teased as he passed the mug to Chinen before settling on the couch. 

Chinen blew over the hot liquid and waited for Takaki to realize that the game was about to begin. 

Takaki picked up the controller and finally paid attention to the screen. “Um, Chi?”

“Yes Yuyan?” Chinen said innocently.

“Why am I Princess Peach?” 

“Because you’re so sweet?” 

Takaki shook his head as he tried not to laugh at Chinen’s really lame joke. “It’s cute how you think you can beat me by giving me a character I don’t usually play with.” He took a long sip of his hot chocolate and winced as it burnt his mouth. “But trust me, I’ll still smash you even in a dress.” 

“Gosh, I wish I had recorded you saying that because I’m never going to let you forget it,” Chinen laughed before sipping at his own drink. 

Takaki placed his mug carefully back on the table and then rolled his shoulders like he was getting ready for a boxing match instead of a video game fight. “Let’s get this party started.” 

After several rounds, they ended up having to declare a tie. It was getting late, they’d run out of instant hot chocolate, and Takaki had to head home. He packed away the video game he’d brought and then headed to the door to put his shoes back on. 

“Oh, don’t forget your mugs,” Chinen called out, picking up the empty cups from the table. A ring of liquid chocolate residue clung to the bottom of each one. 

Takaki paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. “You can keep them,” he said. “Consider it an early Christmas present. You need things in the kitchen other than DVDs, you know.” 

And with a smile, Takaki disappeared out the door and into the night.


	7. We Need a Christmas Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for Tachan from twitter~! (my fellow Takaki fan even though this one is YamaKeito lol) Hope you enjoy! Yamada's over-enthusiasm for Christmas decorations continues!

Keito was actually shocked that Yamada had driven him out of Tokyo and brought him to some woods in the middle of nowhere. The only things he could see before him were trees, trees, and more trees. Evergreens to be exact, with their bright green leaves glimmering in the sunlight. All Keito had done was casually mention to Yamada that he needed to get a Christmas tree for his father, and then this had happened. 

“Take your pick,” Yamada said, spreading his arms out in a gesture towards the forest in front of them. “Anything you like. Maybe not something too big though. There’s only so much room in my car.” 

Keito had vastly underestimated Yamada’s dedication to Christmas decorations. “Is this legal?” 

Yamada avoided eye contact. “Hmm… well just be quick about it.” He held up an ax that he had apparently just pulled out of the car and began practicing his swing on the nearest tree.

Keito inched away slowly. “I think you need to stop playing murderers and assassins in movies,” he said quietly. 

The comment didn’t faze Yamada at all. “How about this one?” Yamada suggested, pointing to a scraggly-looking tree with half of its branches twisted as if a large animal had brushed against them. Keito briefly wondered if bears lived in this area, but then decided he would happier if he didn’t think about that. 

“Somehow I don’t think that will work,” Keito said. He had his eyes on a different tree anyway. It wasn’t very tall but that was okay because that would make it easier for Keito to decorate the top part. The branches looked full and healthy too, so hopefully the tree wouldn’t die before the holiday was over. “Let’s do this one.” 

As it turned out, chopping down the tree was a bit more difficult than Yamada had expected. It took a while for him to make any progress, and Keito kept having to dodge the ax as he held the tree steady so it wouldn’t fall over and crush the nice branches. But finally, after much finagling, they had successfully cut the Christmas tree down. The task of carrying it back to the car, however, was not easy either. 

Keito winced as a bunch of prickly pine needles brushed against his face as Yamada tried to navigate both them and the tree in the right direction. 

“I think I have tree sap in my mouth,” Keito complained. “Everything is sticky.” 

“Maybe tree sap is good for you,” Yamada said, but his voice was muffled by the abundance of tree branches as well. “Maybe there’s nutritional value in it. I’ll google it later.” 

After some fancy maneuvers that would have made their choreographer proud and some curses that Keito wouldn’t repeat in front of his mother, they finally got the Christmas tree into the backseat of Yamada’s car with only a tiny bit of the top sticking out of the window. 

“You know what we need?” Keito said, as he wiped his tree sap-covered hands on his pants. 

“What’s that?” 

“Coffee,” Keito answered as he climbed into the passenger seat. 

Yamada’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Yeah! I know just the café to stop at on the way back. Let’s try it out. I hear they’ve already started serving holiday-themed coffee.” 

Keito decided that the promise of interesting coffee flavors and café-hopping with Yamada made this whole tree adventure worth it. He just wouldn’t think about what they would need to do to get the tree _out_ of the car later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay y'all, don't go randomly chopping down trees in the forest! Probably not a good idea :P


	8. The Story of the Upside Down Gingerbread Castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for [incandescence](http://archiveofourown.org/users/incandescence/) who didn't request anything, but I wanted to write the BroTP anyway :D Hope you enjoy~!

“So,” Chinen began as he sat down at the table across from Inoo. “Ryosuke keeps telling me I need to get into the Christmas spirit and he keeps giving me all this Christmas stuff.” He placed a box in the middle of the table and pointed to it. “So now I have a gingerbread house kit. How do you feel about putting it together with me, Mr. Architecture Major?”

Inoo set aside the book he’d been reading during their lunch break between magazine shoots and inspected the box. He opened it up and took out the ingredients. “Sure! Looks simple enough.” 

“I was thinking we could have some fun with it,” Chinen explained as he started spreading all the pieces out. “Maybe it can be like an upside-down house?”

“Ooh,” Inoo grinned. “I think we can make that work. So tell me, what happened to this poor gingerbread house to turn it upside down?” He passed a gingerbread wall and some icing towards Chinen as they began to assemble it. 

Chinen tapped his chin a moment as he began to think up a story. “It’s a gingerbread castle actually,” he started with his best story-telling voice. “A castle in a magical land where everything is lopsided. The king of the kingdom declared every building be built from the roof up because he wanted to teach people to think differently.” 

“I like this so far,” Inoo nodded. He motioned for Chinen to help him hold the roof piece in place while he set it up as the foundation for the upside-down castle. “What’s the name of this very smart king?” 

Chinen opened his mouth to answer but was distracted by a wobbly side piece that he and Inoo both lunged for to save from disaster. He breathed a sigh of relief. “The king’s name is Chinen,” he answered with a cheeky grin. 

“Good name,” Inoo grinned in return. 

“No relation,” Chinen clarified with a smirk. He snuck a bite of a gumdrop meant to decorate the space around one of the windows. “Oh, and the king has a fun advisor to make sure that things in the kingdom never get too serious and that they never run out of white rice.” 

Distracted by the story, Inoo didn’t realize he was spreading icing on the table instead of the gingerbread castle. “Let me guess. His name is Inoo.” 

“No relation,” Chinen repeated. He leaned back and inspected their work. The upside down gingerbread house looked pretty good actually. Well, it was leaning a bit to the left and the icing job was kind of messy, but it was still standing and that was the most important part. 

“So how does this story end?” Inoo asked. 

Chinen snapped a photo of the castle with his phone and stole another sugary gumdrop. “The people in the upside down kingdom lived happily ever after, even though two other people coincidentally named Chinen and Inoo ate their castle. The end.”


	9. The BEST Cookies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did this one end up being so long?? LOL, please enjoy BEST shenanigans and then go eat some cookies afterwards!

After several intense discussions on the subject, the five guys of BEST finally agreed that cookies would be the perfect gift for their coworkers in the agency. But Hikaru had insisted on homemade cookies. The only problem, of course, was that none of them had a kitchen with an oven.

So that’s how they all ended up baking together in the Arioka household kitchen. 

“Just clean up when you’re done,” Mrs. Arioka called out as she was leaving the house. “And don’t forget to put the lid on the mixer so you don’t get stuff all over the ceiling like Daiki does when he uses it.” 

“Mom!” Daiki exclaimed. 

“Alright, you don’t get to use any of the kitchen appliances,” Hikaru said as he moved the aforementioned mixer away from Daiki’s reach. 

“So we agreed on something simple, right?” Yabu said. He had already started unpacking the pile of grocery bags Hikaru had brought with him. “The amount of ingredients here doesn’t look simple.” 

Inoo picked up a bag. “Ooh sprinkles! And chocolate chips!” He tried to subtly hide those sweets away for himself but Takaki noticed and rescued the necessary ingredients, placing them neatly by the sink instead. 

“It _is_ a simple recipe,” Hikaru explained, “if everyone follows directions.” He gave them all a stern look like he was a schoolteacher scolding unruly students who could never wait patiently in line. 

He continued after he waved Inoo’s wandering hands away from the sprinkles again. “I’ll measure out the ingredients, Takaki can mix it up, and Inoo and Daiki can put the dough onto the baking sheet.” 

“So what do I get to do?” Yabu asked. He looked around hopefully.

Hikaru patted his friend’s shoulder. “You’re the supervisor. Which means you get to watch and not touch anything.” 

Yabu frowned for a moment. “…my feet are touching the floor right now. Does that count?” But he couldn’t stop himself from breaking into a wide grin right after the question passed his lips. 

“Just go make sure Inoo doesn’t eat everything before we even start.”

“I’m not eating anything,” Inoo said with his mouth half-full and an open bag of chocolate chips hastily hidden behind his back. 

Hikaru sighed and resolved to just ignore him. “These cookies are going to turn out great,” he declared with the same amount of determination he had whenever he vowed to learn a new song on his bass.

Of course, things did not go according to plan. 

“Takaki, if you stir the dough much more, I think the whole thing is going to just dissolve into nothing,” Yabu said as he poked Takaki’s shoulder with his finger.

“Sorry.” Takaki put his bowl back down on the counter. “I was concentrating very very hard on it.” 

“It’ll do,” Hikaru frowned down at the mixture.

“Hey Inoo,” Yabu said as he leaned over the table where Inoo and Daiki were scooping the cookie mix into the pan, “I think the cookies are supposed to be round. And Daiki, they’re supposed to be small.” 

Inoo waved his hands over his work so far. “But this makes them look more artsy and fancy,” he explained with more gestures to his misshapen cookies. They were mostly just indistinguishable lumpy bits.

“Who are you calling small!?” Daiki protested, accidentally spilling some of the mix on the table.

“It’ll do,” Hikaru frowned down at the mess.

Once the cookies were finally ready to put in the oven, Yabu gathered the group and forced them all to sit in front of it and watch the cookies bake through the oven’s glass window.

“Why do we _all_ have to watch?” Daiki complained. “You’re the supervisor.” 

Yabu grabbed Daiki’s arm as if he was about to make his escape. “This way we can all make sure they don’t burn. And we can also watch the fascinating baking process!”

“It’s not _that_ exciting,” Hikaru frowned. “But it’ll do.”

“It’s totally exciting,” Yabu argued. “Isn’t that right, Takaki? Takaki?” There was no response so they all turned to look at their speechless friend. “You’re sleeping aren’t you?” 

Takaki, leaning against a cabinet, snored in response. Hikaru punched his arm. 

After eight minutes of intense staring and several more complaints, the first batch of cookies was done. 

“Wow, these are actually amazing,” Daiki said as he ate one. The rest of Best followed suit and everyone agreed that the cookies had turned out perfectly. Way better than expected. 

Hikaru pulled out another bowl and cracked his knuckles with even more determination than before. “Okay, time for the next batch. Guys?” He turned to see them all putting on their coats and heading out the door. “Where are you going?” 

“We decided the cookies are too good to give away as gifts,” Takaki explained. “We know we’re never going to recreate the perfection of that first batch. So we’re just gonna go buy some.” 

“This’ll be easier anyway,” Daiki said as Inoo quickly added “less messy!” Hikaru narrowed his eyes as Inoo tried to quietly sneak the bag of chocolate chips into his coat pocket. 

“And what are you doing?” Hikaru asked Yabu.

Yabu just smirked. “Supervising, of course.” 

Hikaru threw on his own coat and followed after them. He supposed he’d rather keep their cookies too instead of giving them away. They were the _best_ after all.


	10. Jingle Bell Pop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for [nachtegael](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nachtegael/). I was actually going to write you a Christmas in July fic involving popsicles, but life got crazy and I never did. So here are the popsicles now :D Hope you enjoy~!

Takaki put his car into park and sighed. “Looks like we’re going to be stuck here a while,” he said to the person in the passenger seat. Keito frowned as he looked out the window at all the motionless cars around them on the highway. They weren’t sure how far the traffic jam stretched on, but they hadn’t moved for a solid ten minutes. And things didn’t look like there were going to change any time soon.

“Well at least we have good music to listen to,” Takaki continued as he took the opportunity to stretch and get comfortable. The heavy traffic from earlier had made him feel a bit tense around the shoulders. But he noticed Keito was making a face at him. “What?” 

“Can we maybe stop listening to this playlist consisting only of different versions of Jingle Bells?” Keito’s face sort of looked like he was considering jumping out of the car if the answer was no. 

“How can you not like Jingle Bells?” Takaki pouted as he fiddled with the music and switched the playlist to a mix of instrumental arrangements of several different Christmas carols instead. 

“The one that was just the sound of cats meowing was… well, grating no matter how much you love the tune of the song,” Keito explained honestly. He then reached down to grab the bag of stuff they’d just bought from the 100 yen shop. “But in more important matters, what are we going to do about the popsicles?” 

Takaki’s face paled as he realized that they were stuck in his car for who knows how long with a bag full of popsicles they’d just bought from the store. Popsicles that were probably going to melt into gross sticky puddles all over his nice upholstery and dashboard. 

“I told you we were going to regret that impulse buy,” Takaki said, “I just didn’t realize how soon it would be.” He reached out to take the bag from Keito, frowning as he picked up a couple of brightly packaged ones. The colors on the plastic wrap swirled together just like the ice cream inside would be swirling together in a liquefied state if they didn’t eat them soon. 

“Let’s just eat them now,” Keito suggested and didn’t even wait for a response before he opened up the first one. They had bought the popsicles originally because the two of them had been intrigued by the special “holiday flavors” advertised on the freezer display. 

“Oh, this is candy cane flavored!” Keito said happily with his mouth half-full. 

“It’s dripping, it’s dripping!” Takaki waved his hand frantically towards Keito as if that would help the situation in any way. Keito didn’t move fast enough and Takaki watched in horror as the drop of candy-cane flavored ice cream slipped down in what seemed like slow motion. But then Takaki breathed a long sigh of relief as it landed on Keito’s pants instead of the seat. 

With that crisis averted, Takaki picked one to eat quickly as well. “Eggnog flavored?” He wasn’t sure he was going to like it, but he was always willing to try new things. Years of appearances on various variety shows had helped him with that. 

“Do you like it?” Keito asked as he finished off the candy cane one and pulled out the next. Gingerbread flavored it looked like, according to the package. 

“Terrible,” Takaki said through a large mouthful of ice cream and with a face scrunched up in disgust. He took several big bites to finish it off as quickly as possible. Just as he ate the last of it, he squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head against the window. 

Keito looked on with mild concern as he ate his surprisingly tasty gingerbread popsicle. “Are you dying?” 

“Brainfreeze,” Takaki managed to groan before knocking his head against the window as few times as if more pain would help the pain go away. 

Keito dug around in the popsicle bag to find a better one for his companion. “How about trying Winter Wonderland? I don’t know what it is, but it looks exciting. There are snowflakes on the wrapper.” 

“Do you think this will be better?” Takaki asked, warily eyeing the popsicle now that he’d gotten over the brainfreeze. But it was already starting to melt now that they had opened it, and he feared for his car’s cleanliness again. Keito watched him with curious eyes, wondering what the mysterious “Winter Wonderland” flavor tasted like.

“Well?” Keito asked after a moment or two of waiting. Takaki’s eyebrows were furrowed together like he was thinking very hard about how to describe his first tentative taste. 

“Keito, have you ever eaten snow before?”

Keito looked concerned. “Um… no…”

Takaki took another bite and narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure the best way to describe it. “It tastes sorta like that, but also mixed with a hint of vanilla and… I don’t know? Something like that weird candy Inoo brought to dance practice last week. And maybe also… glitter?” 

“And how do you know what _that_ tastes like?” Keito asked very skeptically while trying not to laugh at the absurd flavor description. 

“There was this one time with my sister’s makeup but that’s not really important right now,” Takaki said quickly with a wave of his hand. He offered the half-eaten popsicle to Keito. “Do you want to try it?” 

“No thanks.” Keito leaned back towards the window. 

“Oh!” Takaki exclaimed. “I think traffic is moving again.” He stuck the popsicle in his mouth so he could use both hands to drive. “Turn the music off so I can concentrate,” he continued but it was hard to understand with the popsicle in the way. 

Keito fumbled with the controls a few seconds until silence finally fell over the car again. 

Takaki looked like a race car driver intensely concentrating on the traffic as he scanned for an opening in the cars to switch lanes. After another moment, he began unconsciously humming Jingle Bells and it wasn’t long before Keito joined in too. 

“Dang it,” Keito muttered as he realized what he was doing. So he just pulled out another popsicle to eat as the two of them travelled back home. At least the delicious popsicles were worth having Jingle Bells stuck in his head forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Speaking of Christmas music, if you've never heard Trans-Siberian Orchestra before, you should definitely look them up! I'm not sure if they have a version of Jingle Bells though...
> 
> Also, tomorrow's post isn't food-related, I swear!


	11. Mistletoe Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for Cyn from twitter! I hope you enjoy the Yamajima~ :D
> 
> (the giggling fit was sort of inspired by the recent itadaki episode where Yamada gets the giggles and Yuto is seriously laughing in the background of all the shots)

December dance rehearsals were in full swing and all going pretty well. Pretty well except for the mistletoe still hanging over the door of JUMP’s dressing room. Yuto had taken to lurking about by the door in order to catch someone off guard with a kiss. As such, it made getting in and out of the room a bit of an ordeal. (Hikaru had, in fact, given up and started changing clothes in the broom closet down the hall two days ago when Yuto had jumped out of the shadows and shouted KISS ME so loud that it had startled Hikaru half to death.) 

Today Yuto wasn’t even lurking nearby. He was standing directly in the doorway right under the mistletoe, so no one could get inside to change clothes. “Where’s your Christmas spirit? Your sense of romance? Why don’t you want to kiss me?” Yuto complained with his hands resting on his hips as he stared down the whole group.

“It’s not the kissing _you_ part that’s the problem,” Daiki explained. “It’s mostly because we all saw you eat an excessive amount of garlic at lunch.” 

“Oh,” Yuto frowned. “Well then. Let me kiss just one of you and then I’ll let the rest of you escape.” 

“Yamada can do it,” Inoo exclaimed instantly and pushed his unsuspecting bandmate forward.

Yamada stumbled a few steps forward. “Why am I the sacrifice?” he asked as Yuto grinned happily. 

“Because you like him and you two are cute together,” Keito answered, but then he noticed Chinen giving him an evil look. “Not cuter than Chinen, of course, but still cute.” He ever so slightly edged away from their youngest bandmate. Yamada shrugged and didn’t argue anymore. Keito wasn’t wrong.

“Make it exciting!” Yabu suggested as he pulled out his phone to record the kiss so he could send it to Hikaru as future evidence. Suggestions of “spin him around” and “dip him” were called out until Inoo yelled the best one.

“Re-enact that one part in Super Delicate!” 

The whole group instantly cracked up at that, so apparently that was the suggestion they were going with. Yabu had pulled his phone out again to call Hikaru out of the broom closet because video proof just wasn’t going to be good enough. 

“Somebody hum the music for us,” Yuto said as he bounced up on his toes with excitement. Yamada rolled his eyes but he secretly thought the whole thing was funny too despite how embarrassing it was going to be.

The whole group watched and hummed the tune of the song as Yamada and Yuto did a few parts of the dance leading up to the moment all the fans seemed to enjoy. When they finally reached that part, both of them leaned forward very over-dramatically, caught up in the moment. Yamada even accidentally stepped on Yuto’s foot because he had already started giggling at the absurdity of the situation. There was a pause in the humming—their cue—and Yuto planted a sloppy wet kiss on Yamada’s lips. 

Afterwards, Yamada and Yuto broke out into a hysterical giggling fit, momentarily forgetting about their group of spectators. Yuto’s laugh was loud and booming as he slapped his hand against the door, while Yamada’s quick giggles were so intense he had to lean against the door frame for support.

“How was it?” Daiki called out.

“Garlicky,” Yamada answered before sinking to the floor in another fit of giggles. 

“We’re full of the Christmas spirit now!” Yuto managed to say between his loud cackles of laughter. He stepped out of the way and let everyone into the dressing room as promised. 

“Did I miss it?” Hikaru shouted as he came running from down the hallway.

“You need to work on your timing,” Yuto answered with a smirk before turning to extend a hand out to help Yamada up off the floor. But as soon as they made eye-contact, both of them burst out laughing once again.


	12. Scarves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is another request from [nightbaron079](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nightbaron079/). She had a great AU idea for Hikaru/Inoo but I'll save that idea for later. ^_^ This one is short (actual drabble length?? lol) but please enjoy~!

“Does this scarf make me look fat?” Inoo jokingly asked as he wrapped the red and green striped scarf around his neck. He posed dramatically with his arms in the air to model the accessory better.

“Who cares,” Hikaru shrugged. “We’re on the radio. No one but the staff is going to see it.” He had just arrived to the NHK studio for their weekly show which would be starting in just a few minutes.

“Such a shame because I have a lovely Christmas scarf for you too,” Inoo said, pulling out a gray one decorated with tiny snowmen and snowflakes. He wrapped it around Hikaru’s neck, smoothing out the wrinkles carefully until it looked nice.

“It’s… okay… I guess,” Hikaru said. He examined the pattern closer but didn’t bother to remove the scarf now that it was wrapped around him nicely. 

Inoo smiled. “You like it,” he teased.

“I didn’t say that,” Hikaru answered as he turned to walk into the radio booth. “It’s too hot for this.” But he didn’t take it off.

Inoo just followed him inside. He knew Hikaru too well. He was sure that snowman scarf would be wrapped around his neck when it finally started to snow in the city.


	13. Twinkle Twinkle, All the Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for [inconspicuouslyblue](http://archiveofourown.org/users/inconspicuouslyblue/pseuds/teethflower/) who just said "surprise me" when I asked if she wanted me to write anything for her. ^_^ So I ended up writing something a bit quieter than usual. I think I remember that Inoo and Keito went to see the illuminations together last year, so that's the inspiration here. I believe every now and then even Inoo needs a break from being the silly one, and he can do that with Keito :)
> 
> Please enjoy~!

“YOU!” Inoo called out as soon as he found his target and had to resist the urge to laugh. Keito paused mid-motion and made a _deer-in-the-headlights-is-he-talking-to-me-oh-god-what-did-I-do_ face. “Are you busy tonight?” he asked casually so that maybe Keito would relax a bit.

Keito let out a soft sigh of relief. “I’m free. Why?” 

“I was thinking that we can go see the illuminations together. It was fun when we went together last year.” 

A smile spread across Keito’s face and he nodded eagerly. “Yeah, that was fun.” 

“Meet you at the same place at 8 o’clock tonight then?” Inoo grabbed his things to leave for the day.

“See you then,” Keito nodded. 

That night they met by a cascade of shimmering lights in the middle of a park. The lights sparkled in different colors, reflecting off the nearby sidewalk and the quiet people passing by. The strings of lights shifted colors every few minutes, but they were all blue when Keito and Inoo arrived there. 

“Let’s go see everything,” Inoo suggested. The blue lights reflecting off their faces shifted to a shade of dark purple. Keito just nodded without any words and followed along as they picked a direction to walk. That’s why Inoo liked looking at the lights with Keito. They didn’t have to talk. Inoo didn’t have to come up with some silly jokes. They could just enjoy the pretty display in peace but still be able to share the experience with someone.

Keito silently nudged Inoo’s shoulder and pointed at some trees draped with white lights in the distance. They walked over that way and Inoo couldn’t help but think it almost looked like stars, twinkling brightly in the night. Up close, Inoo could see the individual strands of lights wrapped around the tree branches, snaking in and out like magical colorful vines taking over the trees. He waited patiently as Keito snapped a few photos with his phone and sent them to someone, and then the two of them continued onwards. 

In the middle of the park, there was a small temple which was also adorned with colorful lights. Blues and greens and oranges. It was still mostly dark as they wandered around the temple buildings. The illuminations provided just enough light for them to navigate the pathway. Everything was cast in shadows that stretched and spread out, always changing as they walked. It felt as though they had wandered into an otherworldly place. 

The two of them continued onwards to the edge of the park where another multi-colored light display was set up. Each tiny light sparkled brightly and Inoo quietly looked at the whole display in awe. For once, he couldn’t think of anything to say. 

“They’re sort of like stars,” Keito murmured to himself, but his voice was loud enough for Inoo to hear. Inoo turned to look at his companion. Keito cast his eyes up from the illuminated display towards the dark sky. “Since we really can’t see the stars in the city,” he continued, “these can be our stars, coming down close enough to earth for us to see.” 

“I like that,” Inoo agreed simply. And he turned to face the twinkling light display again, trying to remember every bit of the image before him because he knew it wouldn’t last forever.


	14. Keeping Balance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for [Lady_Michiru](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Michiru/) who requested Takaki and Chinen! Somehow, the Takachii drabbles are turning out to be my favorites. Please enjoy!

Takaki clung to the edge of the skating rink like it was a life-preserver and he was in danger of drowning. Ice skating looked so easy, but he could barely move forward without wobbling. He inched forward ever so slightly as Chinen returned from his effortless lap around the rink. 

“Still having trouble?” Chinen asked. He’d been the one to invite Takaki skating in the first place.

“I’m not having trouble,” Takaki answered. He froze as he almost lost his balance and gripped the edge even tighter. “I just like the view better over here.” 

Chinen held out his hand. “Let me help you.” 

“I don’t need help.” Takaki was being stubborn. “I like being over here, out of the way of all the people racing by like maniacs on skates.” He gestured to the other people in the rink, but all of them were moving at a normal pace (except for one over-eager five year old who was skating around like he was competing in an Olympic competition.)

“You sound like such an old man,” Chinen said and grabbed Takaki’s hand anyway. He pried Takaki away from the wall easily and adjusted his weight to compensate for his friend’s shaky balance. 

Takaki gripped Chinen’s hand tightly but still tried to pretend like he wasn’t having trouble with his ice skates. He looked straight ahead as he concentrated on keeping his balance on the ice. 

“Just take your time and try to be steady,” Chinen encouraged him. 

Unfortunately for Takaki, he still couldn’t keep his balance and even Chinen’s iron-clad grip on his hand couldn’t stop him from crashing down to the ice. “People do this for fun?” he complained as he tried to get back up on his shaky legs. (The five year old zoomed past them, laughing loudly.) 

Chinen frowned, disappointed that this wasn’t the afternoon he’d envisioned. He didn’t know Takaki was going to be miserably bad at ice skating. “Well I thought this was going to be fun.” He guided Takaki back to the edge of the skating rink where he resumed his tight grip on the waist-high wall for balance. But Takaki didn’t let go of Chinen’s hand either. 

“Maybe you can just skate around the edge with me,” Takaki suggested, looking a bit hesitant like he felt bad that he wasn’t any better at this. “We can take our time and that could be fun?” He cautiously slid one skate forward while using the wall and Chinen to keep him and his weak ankles steady. “That is, if you don’t mind going really really really reaaaaaallllly slow.”

“Yuyan,” Chinen smiled and patted Takaki’s arm as he realized Takaki wouldn’t give up so easily. “We have all the time in the world. It’s not like the ice is going to melt.”


	15. Strange Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I asked Emily for suggestions and got Santa Takaki and Rudolph Yuto in response. This is entirely her fault :P

“Ho ho HO! No, that’s not right. HO, ho, ho!” Santa cleared his throated. “Ho, ho, hooooooo!” 

Daiki scratched his head as he watched Santa Claus practice his _ho, ho, ho-ing_ in a mirror. What confused him more than Santa needing practice was the fact that Santa was actually Takaki in a bright red suit, complete with the standard white fur trim. He even had a white beard attached to his chin. 

Yamada rushed into the room clad in a green elf suit and pointy shoes. Daiki looked around the room and tried to figure out where they were. This wasn’t their usual dressing room. In fact, it didn’t look like any place Daiki had ever been before. Was this the North Pole?? He could actually see through the window that it was snowing outside, and it hadn’t been snowing in Tokyo earlier.

“Santa, this is bad! Christmas is almost here and we are not ready at all!” Elf Yamada looked distressed as he waved his hands around. “Where’s your list? Have you even checked it twice yet?”

Santa Takaki shrugged. “I checked it one and a half times. You could have helped me prepare if you hadn’t been so focused on the Christmas decorations, you know.” And then he let out a jolly laugh because he wasn’t upset at all. Daiki decided that Takaki was a bit too casual to be actual Santa. Probably.

At that moment, Chinen walked into the room carrying a plate of cookies. And he was also wearing a red dress. Daiki scratched his head again. Was Chinen supposed to be Mrs. Claus or something? This was really weird.

“I made cookies,” Chinen declared as he set the tray down on a table. “And I brought milk.” 

“Why?” Yamada asked. “We still have like a million things to do! There’s no time for cookies!” 

Chinen shrugged. “I don’t think I’m supposed to do anything else.” He paused a moment. “But if you insist, then I’ll just take these back with me. Maybe the reindeer will like them.” Chinen picked up the tray and opened the door.

“I love cookies,” Yuto exclaimed as he pranced into the room wearing fake antlers on his head and a bright red nose. “Thank you!” 

“He’s my best reindeer,” Santa Takaki declared proudly, but no one was listening. Yamada the elf was busy trying to check the rest of Santa’s list himself. And Chinen was explaining about all the different kinds of cookies he had to Rudolph Yuto. 

“I’m so confused,” Daiki muttered to himself. A loud alarm started going off but no one seemed to hear it other than Daiki. 

After a moment, Daiki woke up with a gasp and reached to turn his alarm clock off. He blinked a few times, suddenly realizing that the whole North Pole thing had been one very strange dream. 

“I’m never eating cold gyoza at 2am ever again,” Daiki vowed quietly as he tried to erase the image of Chinen in a dress from his brain. He then glanced out of his window. Tiny snowflakes were beginning to cover the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sidenote: I once ate cold gyoza late at night and had the strangest dreams ever. So... true story, I guess. ^_^


	16. Snow Angels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for [blinking_post](http://archiveofourown.org/users/blinking_post/) who actually came up with the prompt for this and everything! Hope I managed to do it justice! Please enjoy~! ^_^ 
> 
> It feels a little weird to be writing about snow when it's currently unseasonably warm where I live. LOL

A sudden snow storm had breezed through Tokyo the day before, covering the entire city in a cold white blanket. Hikaru walked along the road with Keito as they were on their way to eat dinner together. The snow crunched underneath his shoes and Hikaru realized he wasn’t exactly dressed for the weather. He could feel the cold seeping through to his toes. Only the snowman-decorated scarf wrapped around his neck was keeping him warm. Keito, however, seemed perfectly at ease as he chatted happily about childhood memories. 

“In England, whenever it would snow,” he was saying, “my favorite thing to do was make snow angels. I don’t know why.” He shrugged. “It was just fun. Don’t you think they’re fun to make?” 

Hikaru shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually done that before.” 

Keito stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at Hikaru. “You haven’t?!”

“Stop staring at me like I just admitted I’ve never ridden a bike or something,” Hikaru scowled. He kicked some snow around with his shoes that were starting to get slightly soggy. “I bet your snow angels looked silly anyway.” He didn’t actually mean that, but he felt a bit embarrassed when Keito had started staring at him. 

“Let’s make snow angels right now,” Keito insisted, completely ignoring Hikaru’s attempt to insult him. He pointed to the ground for extra emphasis on how important this was, and looked extremely thrilled about the possibility of rolling around in the snow for a few minutes. Grabbing Hikaru’s arm like an excited child, he dragged his friend to a spot of untouched snow. Hikaru had a sarcastic comment but it died in his throat as he caught sight of Keito’s genuine smile. 

“You know how to do it, right?” Keito asked once he flopped down on his back, his newly blond hair sinking into the powdery snow.

 _Of course I do_ , Hikaru thought. It’s not like it was a difficult concept to grasp. But they had just finished up a long day of concert rehearsals and Hikaru knew that Keito had had a tough time. So instead of just answering truthfully, Hikaru decided to have a bit of fun. “Nope, no idea how to make snow angels.” 

Keito waved his hand in a _join me_ gesture, so Hikaru laid himself flat down on the ground too after he tightened the scarf around his neck to protect it from the cold damp snow. 

“It’s simple,” Keito began with a laugh as he demonstrated how to move his arms and legs back and forth. “You just stretch and push the snow away.” He cast his eyes up at the blue sky as he made his snow angel.

Hikaru did the same, surprised by the happy feeling he got from the simple action. He didn’t even care if the people who lived and worked nearby might be watching and laughing at them. 

“And that’s it!” Keito stood back up to observe their work. He shivered at the chill of the cold and tried to brush all the snow off his back. When Hikaru stood up too, he felt the snow clinging to his shirt and pants, but he didn’t mind the feeling so much anymore as he knocked clumps of snow off of Keito’s shoulders.

“They look nice,” Hikaru admitted. Two perfect angels left behind to show that the two of them had been there. But after a moment, Hikaru decided that his was missing something. He leaned over and stuck his finger in the snow, drawing two curved lines at the top of his angel’s head.

Keito tilted his head in confusion. “What are you doing?” 

Hikaru smirked. “Mine’s a devil,” he explained.

“That makes sense,” Keito nodded seriously, and then winced when Hikaru punched him in the shoulder. “Yep, definitely makes sense.” 

“Come on,” Hikaru said as he started walking down the sidewalk again. “Let’s go eat.” He cast one last glance over his shoulder at the devil and angel pair left behind in the snow. Maybe he’d have to let Keito teach him more snow-related traditions again some time.


	17. Snowball to the Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finishing up my short string of snow-themed drabbles with a HS7 snowball fight :D I told myself this one would be short... but then it wasn't. Oops.

“Take your time and aim carefully,” Chinen coached quietly, making small hand gestures towards the target. “And make sure the snowball is packed well enough so that it doesn’t fall apart before it hits him.” 

“Like this?” Keito asked. He held out his snowball for examination. The snow that covered the city was melting away rapidly, but there was still just enough for a snowball fight. Chinen had been trying to start one all day, but circumstances just weren’t right. But now, he’d finally convinced Keito to help him out. 

Chinen nodded in approval at the snowball. “It’s perfect. Now aim at the back of his neck and throw it as hard as you can. This’ll be fun.” 

Keito took a deep breath to concentrate and took aim at his unsuspecting target who was standing on the edge of the parking lot looking for his car. Not knowing exactly the best way to effectively throw a snowball, Keito just wound his arm up and pitched it like a baseball. He and Chinen held their breath as they watched it sail through the air in a perfect arc until it connected right on the back of the target’s neck. 

“Hey!” Yamada exclaimed as he jumped straight into the air at the sudden coldness plastered all over the back of his neck. He whirled around to find the culprits and saw Chinen and Keito trying (and failing) to look nonchalantly at the sky while stifling their giggles. 

Yamada tried frantically to keep the bits of snow from dripping down into his shirt, but his squirming was just making the situation worse. “That’s cold, you jerks.” 

He reached down and grabbed a handful of snow to retaliate. Chinen and Keito quickly scrambled to take cover behind the closest car. Yamada threw the snowball anyway, and watched in horror as an unsuspecting Yuto, who had just stepped out of the building, walked into the line of fire. The snowball crashed into his shoulder and he let up a yelp of surprise. 

“What was that for?” Yuto complained with a confused look. 

“I was aiming for the mischievous brats behind the car,” Yamada explained and pointed to where Chinen and Keito were still hiding. 

“We’re innocent!” Chinen called out.

“Chinen made me do it!” Keito added. 

“Traitor,” Chinen hissed at his companion. 

By this time, Yamada had made two more snowballs and had taken a running start before hurling them over the car. Keito ducked down lower to avoid it while Chinen sprinted away with a shout of “every man for himself.” 

“Traitor!” Keito called back now that he’d been abandoned. He quickly rolled a tiny snowball and blindly threw it in the direction of Yamada since he couldn’t aim from the ground. 

“Is this a snowball fight?” Yuto mused out loud to no one in particular. “Which team am I supposed to be on?” As he said that, he ducked three different snowballs that flew by his face from the direction of where Chinen was. 

“You can be on my team,” Yamada said as he pushed some snow towards Yuto with his foot so that he could use it as ammo. 

While they were distracted, Keito managed to land another hit on Yamada. This time on the middle of his stomach, leaving a damp spot behind as he scowled and brushed the snow off. 

Keito cheered at his successful shot, but it was cut short as a snowball from Chinen collided with the top of his head. “Hey!” He whirled around, just like Yamada had done earlier, to find where Chinen had escaped to. Keito was pelted with two more snowballs while he had his back turned. 

“Hey!” he shouted again as he whirled around once more. 

Yuto shrugged sheepishly. “Yamada said I was on his team.” 

“You’ll never catch me,” Chinen’s voice taunted them from somewhere nearby in the parking lot.

The other three paused to scan the area for the source of the voice. He couldn’t be too far away. Keito glanced over at Yamada and Yuto, and they wordlessly agreed on a truce for the moment. Yuto nudged Yamada’s shoulder and pointed to some footprints left behind in the slush. Yamada bent down and rolled a snowball for each hand, and the other two did the same. Quietly, they followed the footprints to where Chinen was hiding behind a different car. 

Without giving Chinen a chance to fight back, they all tossed their stock of snowballs directly at him. Most of them connected with Chinen’s face. He spluttered for a moment as he tried to wipe all the cold snow away. 

“We win!” Yamada declared. He did a weird little impromptu happy dance with Keito while Yuto pulled out his camera and snapped a few pictures. 

“You were right, Chinen,” Keito laughed. “This was fun!” 

Chinen gave the three of them an evil smirk, which lost a bit of its effectiveness with snow crystals still clinging to his eyebrows. “I’ll get my revenge some day. It may be tomorrow, it may be next year. But when you least expect it, I’ll get you all back.” 

“Well now that that’s settled,” Yuto said while putting his camera away, unfazed by Chinen’s threat. “Let’s all go somewhere warmer and discuss more effective snowball battle strategies so we’ll be ready for the next round.”


	18. Fruitcake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for [dusk037](http://archiveofourown.org/users/dusk037/) who requested YabuHika! I wasn't sure what to write, so I hope you enjoy their quest for fruitcake :P 
> 
> Does anyone out there actually like fruitcake? Be honest! :P

Yabu felt like he was adrift in a sea of various breads and pastries. Everywhere he turned, he was surrounded by wheat, rye, and sourdough or scones, éclairs, and strudels. He was pretty sure this bakery didn’t have what Hikaru was looking for, but he had given up trying to convince his friend of anything. This was the third store they’d been to so far. 

“You’d think a place like this would have holiday-themed stuff,” Hikaru complained quietly as he walked back to where Yabu was examining the freshly baked crescent rolls. “Let’s check out the nearest grocery store.” 

“We already did,” Yabu reminded him as they got back into his car. “They didn’t have fruitcake either.”

Hikaru sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest. “This is so frustrating. It’d be easier if my mom wasn’t so picky about which brand of fruitcake she likes.” 

Yabu laughed. “Who knew there were so many kinds of fruitcake? And for that matter, who knew anyone _actually_ liked it? Don’t worry, we can check the import store next.” 

Hikaru sighed again, louder this time. “That place is expensive.” 

“Do you want to buy your mother a fruitcake for Christmas or not?” 

It didn’t take them long to arrive at the store but Yabu had to circle around the parking lot a few times before he found a place to park. “Wow, I bet all these people are here to buy fruitcake too,” he teased. 

The two of them wandered down the aisles of the store in search of the fruitcake. Yabu enjoyed teasing Hikaru and kept asking “is this it? is this it?” for things that weren’t even remotely similar to the hated holiday dessert. 

“If you do that again, you’ll have to buy the next thing you pick up,” Hikaru said with a half-smirk/half-smile. 

Yabu quietly put down the wheel of fancy gouda cheese he’d just picked up and said nothing. 

“Ah ha!” Hikaru finally exclaimed, making several people around them stop and glare. He paid them no mind as he immediately went to the fruitcake display set up on a nearby shelf. “Shoot, why are there so many different kinds?” The multitude of fruitcake packages looked reminiscent of a variety of bright ornaments decorating the shelf.

“Is that it?” Yabu pointed to one lone package on the top shelf. 

Hikaru nodded with excitement and reached up to grab it, but it was just out of his reach. He stretched his fingers but it wasn’t enough to grasp hold of the fruitcake he’d been searching for. Yabu watched with amusement as Hikaru cursed the fruitcake under his breath, until he finally decided to take pity on him. He reached over Hikaru and easily snagged the package. 

“Thanks,” Hikaru said, cradling the fruitcake close like a precious gem. 

Yabu curiously poked the package. “It’s so heavy. Like a brick or something. Are you sure your mom likes to eat those things?” 

“I don’t know,” Hikaru shrugged on his way to the checkout up front. “She could use them for doorstops for all I know. Either way, she’ll be happy though.”

They quickly paid for the item and both of them were glad that their quest for fruitcake was over. “Let’s go home,” Hikaru said with his bag swinging at his side. 

“Hmm…” Yabu frowned slightly as they stepped outside and he scanned the still crowded parking lot. “I don’t remember where I parked my car.” 

Hikaru rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me hit you with this fruitcake.”


	19. Piano Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, apologies for the delay in posting. I didn't have time/motivation to write the drabbles I had planned, but I finally got caught up today. ^_^
> 
> This one is for Tachan from twitter again! It's very short but I hope you enjoy the Takanoo. I think it's kinda cute? Also, Takaki's obsession with Jingle Bells is officially a running joke now. :P

“You are staring very intently at that piano,” Inoo said as he sat down beside Takaki on the piano bench. “Wanna learn a song?”

“Jingle Bells!” Takaki said instantly, looking like Christmas came early.

“You are 100% predictable.” Inoo laughed and scooted a little closer to Takaki so that he could reach all the keys he needed. He played the song once through so that Takaki could see which notes to play. Takaki hummed along happily. 

When he was done, Takaki placed his hands on the keys like he was about to recreate the whole song. He took a deep breath, but just as he was about to start, he paused with his hands hovering over the keys. “I’ve already forgotten how to play it.” 

Inoo rolled his eyes and placed his hands over Takaki’s so he could guide him. For the next 20 minutes, they made their way through the song—slowly, haltingly, with a multitude of mistakes—until Takaki finally got the hang of it and Inoo was singing along loudly and obnoxiously. 

“Okay, now that I’ve gotten the hang of Jingle Bells,” Takaki said, looking proud of his accomplishment. “Teach me another one!” 

“We’re going to be here all afternoon, aren’t we?” Inoo sighed, but he didn’t really mind.

“I’ve always wanted to learn to play Carol of the Bells,” Takaki grinned and flexed his fingers.


	20. Mistletoe Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one concludes the mistletoe saga with the only people (other than Yuto) who really don't mind the mistletoe~!

“Hey,” Daiki said, looking straight up. “We are standing under Yuto’s mistletoe.” 

Inoo looked up as well. “We are indeed.” The plant was miraculously still green and mostly alive even though it had been hanging over their dressing room door since December 1st. He glanced around to see if Yuto was lurking anywhere nearby to watch but all he could see was an empty hallway and empty dressing room and a random potted plant. A ficus maybe? Had that always been there?

“Well, no harm in traditions I suppose,” Daiki laughed. 

“Yep,” Inoo nodded and then leaned forward. It was a nice kiss but it was interrupted by the sound of someone taking a picture. 

“Yuto?” Daiki turned to see Yuto gleefully taking their photo with his phone. 

“I’m going to put this in the group message right now!” Yuto said. “Hahaha, Merry Christmas to you!”

Inoo scratched his head. “Where were you hiding?” 

“Behind the ficus,” Yuto explained. 

“How did you even fit behind there?” Daiki asked, squinting at the plant again. He was pretty sure it wasn’t big enough to conceal all of Yuto’s long limbs. 

Yuto just shrugged. “See you later!” And then he skipped away down the hallway. 

“So… anyway,” Inoo began. “We’re still standing under the mistletoe. Wanna kiss again?” 

Daiki laughed and leaned in again. “Sure.”


	21. Christmas Present (W)Rap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything to make present wrapping more bearable than it really is, yeah? :P

Daiki moved slowly and carefully, not even daring to breathe loudly, as he tried to tape up the corner of his present without ripping the thin paper. But to his left, Hikaru sneezed suddenly, breaking the silence and startling Daiki badly. The paper ripped diagonally along the box. 

“This is the worst,” Daiki complained, pulling off the ruined wrapping paper to start over. _Again._ “I have papercuts on my papercuts. How’s it coming over there?” 

“I’ve… had more successful days,” Hikaru answered from the other side of the room where he was partially covered by a pile of crinkled shiny wrapping paper and sparkly bows. There were two red bows resting perfectly on his head instead of on any of his presents. “We need to try a different approach or something.” 

“Yeah,” Daiki nodded as he pulled out some cute wrapping paper decorated with penguins wearing Christmas hats. “We need to make this more fun.” 

Hikaru’s eyes widened as if a lightbulb had just gone off above his head. “We should rap while we wrap presents!”

“Wait, what?” 

“Give me a beat,” Hikaru said, waving off Daiki’s question. He dug himself out of the used wrapping paper pile and gathered all his presents together again. Daiki looked confused for a moment but then started to beatbox.

“No, wait,” Hikaru interrupted. “Don’t do that. You’re spitting all over the presents. Just hum a beat or whatever.” 

Daiki frowned and crossed his arms, but then began to hum the tune of Black Sheep’s _This or That_ anyway. 

“You can give ‘em this, or you can give ‘em that,” Hikaru began, pointing randomly at several of his presents before starting to cover them in wrapping paper again. “You can give ‘em _this_ , or you can give ‘em that. I think we’ll give ‘em this, ‘cause this is where it’s at!” 

“Beautiful,” Daiki said, clapping slowly. “Now it’s my turn.” He cleared his throat and started to hum the chorus for Macklemore’s _Thrift Shop._

“I’m gonna wrap my stuff, only used 2000 yen to buy it. I- I- I’m wrapping, ain’t nothing better. This is freakin’ awesome.” He pointed to his present again for emphasis, despite the fact that he’d ripped the paper again by accident. 

Hikaru nodded in approval. “Well that was fun,” he said, but then frowned as he realized his wrapping paper was wrinkled up and a mess too. He sighed and tore the paper off again. “But it didn’t really help at all.” 

“Forget this,” Daiki said. “Let’s just put everything in bags.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing parodies of rap songs, even super short ones, is more difficult than I expected LOL. I apologize for ruining both of those songs. I don't really listen to enough rap music to know much.


	22. Tacky Sweaters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I just made up all these sweater designs, but I hope they all exist in real life somewhere! (except for that gingerbread one... D: /ugh)

“I need a model,” Yuto said without any warning and grabbed Takaki’s arm. 

“But _you’re_ an actual model,” Takaki complained as he was dragged along against his will. Yuto had a lot of strength when he wanted to surprisingly.

Yuto didn’t stop. “Yeah, but I’m trying to pick out a sweater to wear to a party, and I need to see them on someone before I can decide.” 

“Okay,” Takaki realized he was never going to escape the ironclad grip on his arm. “But why don’t you just wear them yourself and decide like normal people do?” 

Yuto shook his head as he finally let go and reached into the box where he’d apparently been storing all his sweater options. “It’s just not the same. Now put this on.” 

Takaki held up the first Christmas sweater and grimaced. It was decorated on the front with a snowman family all clad in tiny argyle sweaters. He would probably describe it as hideously cute. 

“Is this for a tacky sweater party?” he asked and reluctantly put it on. 

“Did I forget to mention that?” Yuto said and held up his phone to take a picture. “Yeah, it’s a tacky sweater party, not to be confused with the _Tackey_ sweater party Tsubasa is throwing next week. I’m not sure I’m going to that one because I can’t get the picture of Tackey’s face to iron on my sweater just right, so it just looks dumb.” 

Takaki decided it was best to not ask questions about any more parties. “Are you going to put these pictures in the group message? Because I saw that picture of Inoo and Daiki under the mistletoe you sent the other day. I’m not comfortable with photographic proof of me wearing these weird sweaters.” He picked up the next one which was a print of Santa driving a convertible and wearing sunglasses. 

“These are just for future reference,” Yuto grinned and took another picture. “You’ve worn worse for magazine photoshoots anyway.” 

“At least I got paid for those,” Takaki pouted. The next one had a large Christmas tree right down the center of the front, and the tree ornaments actually stuck out from the sweater, making it like 3-D. “I don’t recommend this one. It’s itchy. And hideous.” 

“Duly noted,” Yuto nodded seriously. He handed Takaki the next sweater, a red one simply decorated with bells all over it. 

Takaki looked at Yuto in disbelief and then at the sweater and then at Yuto again. “I think this is a winner. It’s certainly the most obnoxious.” He shook it and the tinny sound of bells rang out. He shook it a few more times to the tune of Jingle Bells and then laughed at his own silliness. 

“How about this one?” Yuto said, taking the bell sweater away before Takaki even put it on. Instead, he was given one that had a scene of broken gingerbread men scattered across the front. Takaki recoiled a bit in horror. 

“Why do you even have this one? It looks like a battlefield.” 

Yuto shrugged and took another picture. “My elderly neighbor gave it to me. She doesn’t see well so…” 

Takaki took off his sweater and shook his head. “Have you made a decision yet?” He scratched his side. “I think the Christmas tree one gave me a rash.” 

“Oh yeah, totally going with the snowman family one. It’s ironic,” Yuto answered simply, like he’d already made up his mind _before_ he’d made Takaki try them all on. “Wanna come to the party with me? The Sunglasses Santa one looked really good on you.” 

Takaki opened his mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. It wasn’t often he got invitations from Yuto to hang out. A party would be fun. “Okay, but you have to delete all of those photos you just took of me right now.” 

“Uh… see you tonight at the partyyyyy,” Yuto shouted over his shoulder as he quickly dashed away.


	23. Panic Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went panic shopping today actually! :D (Also, here's another tiny chapter in the saga of Chinen's lack of kitchen stuff)

“Why are you in such a hurry to run away?” Yamada asked Yuto while he was struggling to put his socks back on now that dance practice was over. 

“Why are _you_ in such a hurry to run away?” Yuto asked back as his fingers got tangled up in his shoelaces. 

“Last minute shopping for my sister,” Yamada answered as he paused to help Yuto get his fingers unstuck. 

“Last minute shopping for my brother,” Yuto responded and then passed Yamada his own shoes to put on.

“We should go together. I suck at picking out presents.” Yamada paused a moment because he’d momentarily lost his balance getting into his shoes. “A second opinion would be nice.” 

“Same,” Yuto agreed. “You have any ideas?”

“Nope. You?”

“Me neither.” 

“This’ll be exciting then,” Yamada said as they exited together. 

The mall they went to was crowded more so than usual, filled with tons of people who were last-minute panic shopping too. They browsed for a bit but nothing jumped out at them as good presents for their siblings. Not yet at least. 

“Oh, look how cheap this blender is!” Yamada explained while they were randomly passing through a home goods store. He leaned closer to look at the appliance specifications on the tag. 

“Does your sister like smoothies?” Yuto asked. He nodded in approval of the brand name. 

“No, no, this is for Chinen. Have you seen his kitchen?? He doesn’t have anything in there so he’s been keeping all his movies in the drawers.” 

Yuto gaped in shock. “Really?? How does he eat? Wait, _has_ he been eating properly? I think I saw a really cheap waffle-maker a minute ago.” 

The two of them immediately purchased some stuff for Chinen’s barren kitchen, both relishing the sense of accomplishment at having picked out some excellent presents for their bandmate. 

“This is great,” Yuto said as they carried their bags of purchases out of the store. They were back in the middle of the sea of people, and they both realized that all the stores were about to close very soon. 

“So now what are we going to get our siblings?” Yamada asked, standing on his tiptoes to scan over the crowd for a store they hadn’t looked through yet. 

There was silence for a few moments until they both looked at each other and said “giftcards.” 

“We’re terrible,” Yuto laughed. 

“Not completely,” Yamada said as he laughed too. “At least Chinen’s getting nice stuff.”


	24. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is late because it turns out that writing a parody of the Night Before Christmas is actually quite difficult LOL. The intention was just to show what everyone was doing on Christmas Eve to the tune of the poem. I hope it turned out okay? 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the original poem even though I used a lot of the same phrases from it and made it shorter. ^_^

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the city, the decorations were up and looking real pretty.   
The stockings were hung on Chinen’s wall with care, in the hopes that his landlord would not soon be there.

Keito was nestled all snug in his bed, while visions of popsicles danced in his head.  
And his Christmas tree looked nice inside of the room, all aglow with lights and not a hint of gloom.

In the Nakajima house there arose such a clatter, because Yuto kept taking pictures of the family’s dinner platter.   
Then away to his computer he flew like a flash, showing them photos of his tacky sweater stash.

Daiki looked at the moonlight on all the fake snow, and approved of the neighbor’s Christmas display down below.   
When, what to his wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.  
(“Wait, was that there yesterday?” he quietly whispered to himself)

And Takaki was driving so lively and quick, listening to carols that he wanted to pick.   
More rapid than eagles, his car went like a flash as he headed to the beach for a late-night splash.

Yamada was dressed in red from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.   
A bundle of presents for his family he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

At the mall Inoo saw Santa, a right jolly old elf, and he laughed when he saw him in spite of himself.  
With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Inoo felt good about his last-minute purchase of gingerbread.

Hikaru spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, filled his mom’s stocking with fruitcake and decided to lurk.  
And laying his finger aside of his nose, he drifted off to sleep until the morning sun arose.

And Yabu looked out his window and let out a whistle, admiring the Christmas decorations, all greenery and thistle.  
The neighbors heard him exclaim as he shouted to the night, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”


	25. Christmas is Here (Downsides and Upsides)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the last one! It's been a long journey with a few bumps along the way, but I hope everyone out there has enjoyed the drabbles/one-shots. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you all have a lovely holiday season. See you in 2016!
> 
> (Also, this is the actual final conclusion of the saga of Chinen's kitchen utensils. I'm sorry [not sorry] that I'm overly fond of running jokes :P)

The downside of being in a group of nine people was that they always had to use dressing rooms that were entirely too small for them. But the upside was that the atmosphere of the room was always cozy (when people weren’t complaining about stepping on each other’s feet). They had time while they were waiting for their performance on Music Station Super Live, so they’d already done their Christmas gift exchange. 

The room was filled with ripped pieces of wrapping paper and crumpled bits of tissue paper, looking almost like impromptu decorations. (Yuto had been convinced to skip hanging up another clump of mistletoe because the room was already festive enough). And the sounds of laughter and teasing filled the air of the tiny room. 

“This is awesome,” Daiki said, holding up his present. 

“I’m pretty good at picking out presents,” Keito responded proudly, and then flinched when Inoo tossed an empty Christmas bag on his head. 

“Don’t mess up his hair,” Hikaru fussed, as he crossed the room, waving his arms. “We’ll be on stage soon.”

Chinen ducked under Hikaru’s flying elbow and sat down directly on Takaki’s lap. Takaki let out a half-hearted “hey” of protest, but then went back to trying to assemble the gift he’d just received. 

“My seat is taken by a cactus,” he explained, pointing to Yamada’s new tiny cactus resting in the middle of his chair. 

Yabu put on a pair of reindeer antlers and grinned, which made Hikaru run back across the room frantically. “Don’t mess up your hair either. Honestly, you guys. We’re about to go on stage.” 

“You know what would be really great?” Yuto began. He waited until Hikaru wasn’t looking and then placed a giant shiny bow directly on top of his head. “Eggnog. Eggnog would be really great.” 

“I’ve got some,” Yamada said. “Hey, after MSSL is over, we should get together and have a party. Maybe at Chinen’s place. We can try out his new blender, and you guys can see all the decorations I put up.” 

“What?” Chinen suddenly looked confused. 

“I saw the decorations,” Takaki added. “They were really nice.” 

“So it’s settled,” Inoo nodded. “Party at Chinen’s place tonight!” 

“What?” Chinen repeated again. 

A staff member stuck his head into the room to remind them to get ready. It was almost time. He gave them a _you’ll have to clean this up later_ look at all the mess, and then disappeared again. 

So they all got ready (including more fussing from Hikaru), and the air felt electric with excitement. It was the feeling of the Christmas spirit, the fun of spending time with friends. The presents were nice, but ultimately not as important as the fun they had together. 

“Bring your own forks tonight!” Yamada reminded them all. 

“What?” Chinen scowled for about half a second, but he really couldn’t deny that a Christmas party would be fun. “Oh alright. Merry Christmas to you all. Party at my place.” 

“Yay!” they all cheered. 

The downside of being in a group of nine people was that they were always crowded together in small rooms, always knocking into each other and stepping on someone’s toes. But the upside was that they always had each other, especially on Christmas.


End file.
